LA 360 or Magnum 5.9

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A stock '69 340 dart with stock tires was 275 hp and a
very fast car on the street! Most got 20 + mpg!
Don't get caught up in that big lumpy cam huge rear tire thing!
 
Are the kieth black 167 pistons really. Worth the $400 or just go back with flat tops.
 
i believe those pistons are flat tops.
Find an engine builder who has experience with small block mopars,
and knows what will be required for your goals.
 
I'm probably gonna get waylaid for this, but, here goes. I've disassembled a fair share of 5.9/360 Magnum engines. Most right at the 100k mark. Those usually only require a re-ring and fresh bearings, i.e. very little machine work. IF you are super lucky, the heads won't be broke, most are. The best bang for the buck will be the ch318b EQ's as RAMM suggested. The money you would have stuck into rebuilding the stock magnums can buy the eq's. That's not to say they don't need a little help out of the box(guides to tight). They are better heads than the stockers. If the lifters check good, they can be reused. Other pieces are tit for tat. Point being for the same money, or even less, you can do the mag versus teen.
 
408 swinger said:
I'm probably gonna get waylaid for this, but, here goes. I've disassembled a fair share of 5.9/360 Magnum engines. Most right at the 100k mark. Those usually only require a re-ring and fresh bearings, i.e. very little machine work. IF you are super lucky, the heads won't be broke, most are. The best bang for the buck will be the ch318b EQ's as RAMM suggested. The money you would have stuck into rebuilding the stock magnums can buy the eq's. That's not to say they don't need a little help out of the box(guides to tight). They are better heads than the stockers. If the lifters check good, they can be reused. Other pieces are tit for tat. Point being for the same money, or even less, you can do the mag versus teen.
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I guess this is what I've been trying to say. If you can find a 5.9 magnum with around 100,000 miles (mine was 92,000), just do rings and bearings. If the heads aren't cracked then run them. This will be cheaper than building the 318. Best of Both worlds. I paid $300 for my entire magnum engine. Still running the stock short block.
 
Walker434 said:
I guess this is what I've been trying to say. If you can find a 5.9 magnum with around 100,000 miles (mine was 92,000), just do rings and bearings. If the heads aren't cracked then run them. This will be cheaper than building the 318. Best of Both worlds. I paid $300 for my entire magnum engine. Still running the stock short block.
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I can't find any magnum local under $700. I have looked and looked. If I could find one I would build it. Texas is bowtie country.
 
as stated over and over...any of the bigger LA's will serve you well.
Just let the amount of work, hassle and economics be your guide.
 
$700 for a 5.9? Not to bad for my neck of the woods, not bad at all.
 
Go magnum. I did and amazingly happy vs the old 318, the price was not even much more vs what the 318 would be (maybe less). I even reused the stock rotating assembly (probably not possible with the 318). I did it all myself and it wasn't bad at all. Even found my 5.9 on a craigslist Durango part out and negotiated it down to $300 including all wire harness/ computer / accessories and such. They are out there just keep looking around.
 
Don't overlook the magnum 5.2 either, still superior in every way over the la 318, and sometimes cheaper to buy used than the 5.9.
 
Well my magnum block is at the machine shop, going to do the a stock bottom end build with EQ heads and EFI...I ASSume if I run the air gap intake with a sniper EFI I need to remove the divider?
 
I spoke with Hugh's Engines this week, they sell a Magnum Stroker 408, but it's @ $5200. They told me you can use LA heads on their Magnum block as long as the block is drilling for the oiling.
Think I"m going to give Ray Barton's a shot to build my bottom end.
 
MICHAEL J KLOCK said:
I spoke with Hugh's Engines this week, they sell a Magnum Stroker 408, but it's @ $5200. They told me you can use LA heads on their Magnum block as long as the block is drilling for the oiling.
Think I"m going to give Ray Barton's a shot to build my bottom end.
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Good luck with that.
 
They told me you can use LA heads on their Magnum block as long as the block is drilling for the oiling.
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You can also drill horizontally in the bolt boss in the rear (side) of the head to reach the rear pedestal & to feed it, tap into the 1/8 NPT oil psi sender with a T brass fitting from the Edelman fittings cabinet at your parts house.
 
MICHAEL J KLOCK said:
Good luck with what?
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Good luck with Barton's, I sold a 6-67 340 block std bore to a guy and he sent it to Barton's and they told him the block was junk, needed bored .060, the lifter bores needed bored and bushed, needed line bored, needed decked .050, I owned the block scent's 1976 and it didn't have many miles on it, it came out of a crashed dart that was hit in the back and the block was in a heated and air conditioned garage for all these years also they told him the crank was shot peened to death and it was std, std how can this be possible, he told me he throw both down the hill on his property to rest in peace, ether Barton's ripped this man off major league or he flat out lied to me but he was so pissed he didn't even ask for his money back he just said live and learn. So I don't think he lied to me and I know the block and crank wasn't bad so it only leave's one thing, Barton's wanted to machine every thing they could to make as much money as they could period...
 
if you run needle bearing rollers on hard shafts you can oil through the pushrods
you still have to relocate the shafts
no hard chrome with needles
I like robers idea
we have drilled the block but do not have dedicated alignment tooling but I understand it's (or was) available
just no demand evidently
 
I"m actually purchasing a low mileage original 1985 Dodge LA 360 factory 4 barrel engine this afternoon for $300, so this is going to be my donor.
 
Wyrmrider said:
good find
is that a roller cam motor, even better (I forget which years)
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It could be a roller block but most likely still has the FT cam. Seems to me it was 86-87 you could get the roller in that same block. I know my 1989 318 is a roller block and cam. But it is shaft oiling.
 
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